Week 3 Recap: The Rest

Same alphabetical order, but the format'll be a lot more informal now. I'll be covering what I feel like, so that hopefully means a lot less comments on how Florida International did against a I-AA.

Central Michigan 24, Akron 21
Hooray MAC parity! CMU's Josh Gordy had a 100-yard INT return, good for him. QB Luke Getsy was both the highlight and the lowlight for Akron, with 375 yards and 3 TD passes, but also 3 picks. Akron should've and would've won this one without turnovers, but CMU is as legit as anyone in the conference this year.

Alabama 41, Louisiana-Monroe 7
Not much to say about this domination, but after single-handedly outgaining Kansas last week, ULM QB Kinsmon Lancaster only had 85 all-purpose yards and the Warhawks' lone rushing TD.

Arizona 28, Stephen F. Austin 10
This was close for a while. Arizona RB Chris Jennings: 26 carries, 201 yards, 2 TD. Good for him, especially since the passing game was less than stellar. Arizona may be further away than previously thought.

Arkansas 21, Vanderbilt 19
If not for some Vandy XP woes (unless they went for a fake FG 2-pt. conversion), this would've gone to OT. Vandy actually outgained Arkansas here 445-417, and Vandy QB Chris Nickson (12/26, 124, TD passing, 74 and 2 TD rushing) seems to have gotten his turnovers under control. Or it could be not playing Alabama and Michigan. Mitch Mustain had 224 yards and a 3/1 TD/INT on 13/20 passing, which is cause for optimism for Razorback fans, but like Arizona, the team's probably a year away from being the sleeper everyone thought.

Texas A&M 28, Army 24
Good day for TAMU RB Jovorskie Lane (101 yards, 3 TD). Rest of the team, not so much. If not for Army QB David Pevoto's 3 picks, this could've been a different result. Army showed flashes of what made me thought they could be improved this year, but based on their performance so far this year, this game more likely means Texas A&M is going to have another down year.

Purdue 38, Ball State 28
Well, the BSU secondary isn't stopping anyone, as they gave up 416 yards and 3 TDs to Curtis Painter. They did get 2 picks, but still.

Washington State 17, Baylor 15
Baylor again has no rushing game (32 yards). Both teams fumbled twice, and while each QB had over 250 yards, both had more INTs than TDs. Baylor's probably improved, but that lack of a rushing game means they'll probably stay in the Big 12 cellar. Wazzou will likely be better than Stanford.

Boston College 30, BYU 23 (2 OT)
BYU QB John Beck had a huge 436 passing, but his 1/2 TD/INT ratio, including the game-ending pick, was a killer. On the BC side, the running game had a good YPC (5.5 for Whitworth, 6.1 for Callender), but Matt Ryan still got 48 attempts, resulting in 356 yards and a 2/2 TD/INT. I still don't think BC is anything special, but they keep on winning.

Northern Illinois 31, Buffalo 13
From my preview: The NIU secondary's been weak, so Buffalo QB Drew Willy may have a good day, but Garrett Wolfe should run for another 200 or so.
From the game: Drew Willy - 25/41, 250, TD. Garrett Wolfe - 263 rushing yards, 2 TD.
Also, about time the Huskies won one.

South Florida 24, Central Florida 17
USF somehow had 474 total yards, 375 of which were QB Matt Grothe, between rushing and passing. Sadly, UCF had 384 total, so Grothe did not pull a Kinsmon Lancaster. If USF keeps this up, well...watch out Connecticut. And maybe Rutgers.

Wake Forest 24, Connecticut 13
To C&P what I've said elsewhere:

-Hernandez was frustratingly inconsistent. His final line didn't look too bad, but in between the occasional flashes of above-averageness, he was throwing into coverage and holding onto the ball too long for most of the game. His two turnovers, the INT that got returned for a TD, and a later fumble, both came within the red zone and pretty much killed any momentum UConn could've built. This would lead to recurring "BON-I-SLAW-SKI" chants in the student section.

-Larry Taylor? Pretty great, and the only player who really got the student section excited all game.

-Terry Caulley? Also great, with 5.5 yards per carry. No idea why he didn't get more touches.

-The defense looked alright overall. They gave up a lot of 10 or so yard passes for Wake first downs, but they rarely let Wake get close enough for a FG. The last Wake TD came after UConn had already turned it over on downs deep in their own territory, so ignore that.

-Aaaand Nuzie. In my one meeting with him, he borrowed a pencil from me and then left without giving it back, so I've jokingly had it in for him for a while. After UConn got the second TD to get it to 14-13, I yelled "GO FOR TWO!", and lo and behold, he shanked the XP. Nuzie also missed a close FG later, but more people saw that coming. My friend said "The way Nuzie's set up, he's going to kick it to the right," and, shock, he kicked it wide right.

-Basically, it was a winnable game and a bad loss. If Nuzie makes the XP and the FG and nothing else changes, it's a 17-17 game, since UConn wouldn't have gone for it deep in their territory in the 4th. And if Hernandez doesn't have those two bad turnovers early, Wake's out the defensive TD and momentum could've shifted towards a UConn blowout.

East Carolina 35, Memphis 20
Memphis QB Martin Hankins threw FIVE interceptions. Whoops!

Northwestern 14, Eastern Michigan 6
What the cock? Northwestern somehow re-found their defense, only giving up 163 yards, with a pathetic 47 through the air. I now have no idea what to think about Northwestern, but I suppose they'll be too inconsistent to finish higher than ninth in the Big Ten.

Washington 21, Fresno State 20
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, but I really don't like Fresno. The past few years they've been favored mid-majors by beating lower-tier BCS teams like, well, Washington, but they still haven't, you know, won their own conference. This was obviously a winnable game, and Bulldogs RB Dwayne Wright (136, 2 TD) is legit, but still. Great game by UW QB Isaiah Stanback, who had 151 and 2 TD passing and led the Huskies in rushing with 91 and a score.

Hawaii 42, UNLV 13
Amazingly, Hawaii not only outrushed UNLV, but outrushed UNLV 214-39. UNLV's at least a year away, yep.

Syracuse 31, Illinois 21
Illinois outgained Syracuse, but still, they gave up 31. 14 of those points came off of fumbles (one by Cuse, one by Illinois), but again, 31 to Syracuse. Illini QB Juice Williams had a performance almost as awesome as his name, with 227 yards and 2 TD on 9/16 passing.

Southern Illinois 35, Indiana 28
Salukis QB Nick Hill: 10/18, 142, 4 TD. Indiana sucks.

Toledo 37, Kansas 31 (2 OT)
Kansas outgained 419-254, but the problem was KU QB Kerry Meier: 23/41, 243 yards, 2 TD, and 4! INT. Whoops. Kansas looks to actually be solid this year, and Toledo should hopefully get some momentum off this.

Kansas State 23, Marshall 7
Marshall only had 182 total yards. They look to be way down this year in a competitive C-USA. Hoo boy.

Kent State 16, Miami of Ohio 14
The heck? Star of the game: Kent QB Julian Edelman, with 244 yards and a 1/1 TD/INT on 14/22 passing, and a rushing TD.

Kentucky 31, Mississippi 14
The Rebels actually outgained Kentucky 410-400, but Mississippi's 4 fumbles killed them. Kentucky is again surprisingly a passing team, as QB Andre' Woodson had 290 yards and 3 TD. Mississippi, like Arizona and Arkansas, is probably a while off.

Michigan State 38, Pittsburgh 23
Michigan State may be putting it together. Drew Stanton didn't have a big day (198, 2/1 TD/INT passing, 105 and a TD rushing), but the Spartans pretty much outclassed Pitt.

Minnesota 62, Temple 0
Temple is fucking awful.

Tulane 32, Mississippi State 29
The Bulldogs have kind of a passing game! Omarr Conner had 241 yards and a pick on 15/25 passing, and was MSU's leading rusher with 71 and a score. Tulane QB Lester Ricard had 298 yards and 4 TD passing, and RB Matt Forte ran for 170 and a score. However, Green Wave K Ross Thevenot only made 2 of 5 XPs.

Missouri 27, New Mexico 17
Mizzou QB Chase Daniel (25/36, 199, 1/1 TD/INT, rushing TD) wasn't spectacular, but RB Tony Temple had 168 on the ground.

Navy 37, Stanford 9
Stanford had 377 total yards, so it wasn't a horrible offensive effort or anything, but Navy did what they do and ran for 383.

Southern Miss 37, NC State 17
NCSU somewhat amazingly gave up 472 total yards. USM RB Damion Fletcher had a huge day, with 177 and 3 TD.

North Carolina 45, Furman 42
JOE DAILEY WATCH!: DNP? Aw. The defense actually let down UNC here, as the Tar Heels were outgained 539-454, and Furman had 5 TD on the ground. Well, at least they won.

Tulsa 28, North Texas 3
UNT had 89 total yards. 89.

Rutgers 24, Ohio 7
RU QB Mike Teel had 3 picks, but once again, the running game dominated for Rutgers. Ray Rice had 190 yards and 2 TD, actually outgaining Ohio's 186 total yards.

Wisconsin 14, San Diego State 0
Horrible offensive showing by SDSU, who only had 153 yards. Pat Hill Jr. ran all over the Aztec D, gaining 184 and a TD.

South Carolina 27, Wofford 20
South Carolina was outgained 397-383. That is...quite not good. Especially for a Spurrier team.

Utah 48, Utah State 0
Another horrible showing by the USU offense. 98 yards. I thought they could make some noise this year, but jesus was I wrong.

Western Michigan 17, Virginia 10
Virginia won the yardage battle 298-203, but UVA QB Kevin McCabe's 2 INT killed them. WMU QB Thomas Peregrin only had 40 yards passing, but RB Mark Bonds's 118 on the ground was obviously enough for the Broncos.